ERN20A91 N0D S.L.C.

S. ll
116TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the additional

2020 recovery rebates, to repeal section 230 of the Communications
Act of 1934, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

llllllllll
Mr. MCCONNELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on llllllllll

A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase
the additional 2020 recovery rebates, to repeal section
230 of the Communications Act of 1934, and for other
purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. INCREASE IN 2020 RECOVERY REBATES.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6428A of the Internal

5 Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by the COVID-related
6 Tax Relief Act of 2020) is amended—
7 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘$600
8 ($1,200’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000 ($4,000’’,
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1 (2) in subsection (g)(1), by striking ‘‘$600’’
2 and inserting ‘‘$2,000’’, and
3 (3) in subsection (g)(2)—
4 (A) by striking ‘‘$1,200’’ in the matter
5 preceding subparagraph (A) and inserting
6 ‘‘$4,000’’, and
7 (B) by striking ‘‘$600’’ in subparagraph
8 (A) and inserting ‘‘$2,000’’.
9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
10 this section shall take effect as if included in section 272
11 of the COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020.
12 SEC. 2. REPEAL OF SECTION 230.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 230 of the Communica-

14 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) is repealed.
15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
16 (1) COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.—The Com-
17 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is
18 amended—
19 (A) in section 223(h) (47 U.S.C. 223(h)),
20 by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the fol-
21 lowing:
22 ‘‘(2) The term ‘interactive computer service’
23 means any information service, system, or access
24 software provider that provides or enables computer
25 access by multiple users to a computer server, in-
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1 cluding specifically a service or system that provides
2 access to the Internet and such systems operated or
3 services offered by libraries or educational institu-
4 tions.’’; and
5 (B) in section 231(b)(4) (47 U.S.C.
6 231(b)(4)), by striking ‘‘or section 230’’.
7 (2) TRADEMARK ACT OF 1946.—Section 45 of
8 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the registra-
9 tion and protection of trademarks used in commerce,
10 to carry out the provisions of certain international
11 conventions, and for other purposes’’, approved July
12 5, 1946 (commonly known as the ‘‘Trademark Act
13 of 1946’’) (15 U.S.C. 1127) is amended by striking
14 the definition relating to the term ‘‘Internet’’ and in-
15 serting the following:
16 ‘‘The term ‘Internet’ means the international com-
17 puter network of both Federal and non-Federal interoper-
18 able packet switched data networks.’’.
19 (3) TITLE 17, UNITED STATES CODE.—Section

20 1401 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by

21 striking subsection (g).
22 (4) TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE.—Part I of
23 title 18, United States Code, is amended—
24 (A) in section 2257(h)(2)(B)(v), by strik-
25 ing ‘‘, except that deletion of a particular com-
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1 munication or material made by another person
2 in a manner consistent with section 230(c) of
3 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
4 230(c)) shall not constitute such selection or al-
5 teration of the content of the communication’’;
6 and
7 (B) in section 2421A—
8 (i) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘(as
9 such term is defined in defined in section
10 230(f) the Communications Act of 1934
11 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)))’’ and inserting ‘‘(as
12 that term is defined in section 223 of the
13 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
14 223))’’; and
15 (ii) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘(as
16 such term is defined in defined in section
17 230(f) the Communications Act of 1934
18 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)))’’ and inserting ‘‘(as
19 that term is defined in section 223 of the
20 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
21 223))’’.
22 (5) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.—Section

23 401(h)(3)(A)(iii)(II) of the Controlled Substances

24 Act (21 U.S.C. 841(h)(3)(A)(iii)(II)) is amended by
25 striking ‘‘, except that deletion of a particular com-
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1 munication or material made by another person in
2 a manner consistent with section 230(c) of the Com-
3 munications Act of 1934 shall not constitute such
4 selection or alteration of the content of the commu-
5 nication’’.
6 (6) WEBB-KENYON ACT.—Section 3(b)(1) of
7 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act divesting intoxicating liq-
8 uors of their interstate character in certain cases’’,
9 approved March 1, 1913 (commonly known as the
10 ‘‘Webb-Kenyon Act’’) (27 U.S.C. 122b(b)(1)) is
11 amended by striking ‘‘(as defined in section 230(f)
12 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
13 230(f))’’ and inserting ‘‘(as defined in section 223 of
14 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223))’’.
15 (7) TITLE 28, UNITED STATES CODE.—Section

16 4102 of title 28, United States Code, is amended—

17 (A) by striking subsection (c); and
18 (B) in subsection (e)—
19 (i) by striking ‘‘construed to’’ and all
20 that follows through ‘‘affect’’ and inserting
21 ‘‘construed to affect’’; and
22 (ii) by striking ‘‘defamation; or’’ and
23 all that follows and inserting ‘‘defama-
24 tion.’’.
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1 (8) TITLE 31, UNITED STATES CODE.—Section

2 5362(6) of title 31, United States Code, is amended

3 by striking ‘‘section 230(f) of the Communications
4 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f))’’ and inserting ‘‘sec-
5 tion 223 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
6 U.S.C. 223)’’.
7 (9) NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND IN-

8 FORMATION ADMINISTRATION ORGANIZATION ACT.—

9 Section 157 of the National Telecommunications

10 and Information Administration Organization Act
11 (47 U.S.C. 941) is amended—
12 (A) by striking subsection (e); and
13 (B) by redesignating subsections (f)
14 through (j) as subsections (e) through (i), re-
15 spectively.
16 SEC. 3. 2020 BIPARTISAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within

18 the Election Assistance Commission the 2020 Bipartisan
19 Advisory Committee (referred to in this section as the
20 ‘‘Advisory Committee’’).
21 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—
22 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Advisory Committee
23 shall be composed of 18 members of whom—
24 (A) nine shall be appointed by the leader
25 of the Republican caucus in the Senate (in con-
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1 sultation with the minority leader of the House
2 of Representatives), one of which shall be ap-
3 pointed as a Co-Chairperson of the Advisory
4 Committee; and
5 (B) nine shall be appointed by the Speaker
6 of the House of Representatives (in consultation
7 with the leader of the Democratic caucus in the
8 Senate), one of which shall be appointed as a
9 Co-Chairperson of the Advisory Committee.
10 (2) REPRESENTATION.—Individuals appointed
11 to the Advisory Committee under paragraph (1)
12 shall be geographically balanced and shall include
13 representatives of Federal, State, and local govern-
14 ments and of the legal, cybersecurity, and election
15 administration and technology communities.
16 (3) DATE.—The appointments of the members
17 of the Advisory Committee shall be made not later
18 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this
19 Act.
20 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—
21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
22 graph (2), a member of the Advisory shall be ap-
23 pointed for the duration of the Advisory Committee.
24 (2) REMOVAL.—A member may be removed
25 from the Advisory Committee at any time at the
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1 upon concurrence of both of the Co-Chairpersons of
2 the Advisory Committee.
3 (3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Advisory
4 Committee—
5 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com-
6 mission; and
7 (B) shall be filled in the same manner as
8 the original appointment.
9 (d) DUTIES.—
10 (1) STUDY.—
11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com-
12 mittee shall, consistent with applicable law,
13 study the integrity and administration of the
14 general election for Federal office held in No-
15 vember 2020 and make recommendations to
16 Congress to improve the security, integrity, and
17 administration of Federal elections.
18 (B) MATTERS STUDIED.—The matters
19 studied by the Advisory Committee shall in-
20 clude—
21 (i) the effects of the COVID–19 pan-
22 demic on the administration of the general
23 election for Federal office held in Novem-
24 ber 2020;
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1 (ii) the election practices adopted by
2 Federal, State, and local governments in
3 response to the COVID–19 pandemic, in-
4 cluding—
5 (I) practices that undermined the
6 security and integrity of the election;
7 and
8 (II) practices that strengthened
9 the security and integrity of the elec-
10 tion;
11 (iii) the laws, rules, policies, activities,
12 strategies, and practices regarding mail-in
13 ballots, absentee ballots, and vote-by-mail
14 procedures, including—
15 (I) measures that undermined
16 the security and integrity of the elec-
17 tion; and
18 (II) measures that strengthened
19 the security and integrity of the elec-
20 tion;
21 (iv) any laws, rules, policies, activities,
22 strategies, and practices that would have
23 allowed improper or fraudulent votes to be
24 cast in such election and the scope of any
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1 improper and fraudulent votes that were
2 cast in the election; and
3 (v) any laws, rules, policies, activities,
4 strategies, and practices that would have
5 allowed improper or fraudulent voter reg-
6 istration and the scope of any improper or
7 fraudulent voter registration.
8 (2) REPORTS.—
9 (A) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180
10 days after the date of the enactment of this
11 Act, the Advisory Committee shall submit to
12 the Election Assistance Commission and the ap-
13 propriate Congressional committees a report on
14 the matter studied under paragraph (1). Such
15 report shall include—
16 (i) precinct-by-precinct data high-
17 lighting the number and incidence of any
18 improper and fraudulent votes that were
19 cast in the election; and
20 (ii) precinct-by-precinct data high-
21 lighting the number and incidence of any
22 improper and fraudulent voter registra-
23 tions.
24 (B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 360
2 days after the date of the enactment of
3 this Act, the Advisory Committee shall
4 submit to the Election Assistance Commis-
5 sion and the appropriate Congressional
6 committees recommendations on the fol-
7 lowing:
8 (I) The best practices that should
9 be adopted by at each level of local,
10 State, and Federal Government for
11 administering elections for Federal of-
12 fice—
13 (aa) during the COVID–19
14 pandemic; and
15 (bb) during other national
16 emergencies.
17 (II) The best practices that
18 should be adopted at each level of
19 local, State, and Federal Government
20 to mitigate fraud and increase the in-
21 tegrity and security of mail-in ballots,
22 absentee ballots, and vote-by-mail pro-
23 cedures.
24 (III) The best practices that
25 should be adopted at each level of
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1 local, State, and Federal Government
2 to prevent improper or fraudulent
3 votes from being cast.
4 (IV) The best practices that
5 should be adopted at each level of
6 local, State, and Federal Government
7 to prevent improper voters from being
8 registered.
9 (ii) MINORITY VIEWS.—In the case of
10 any recommendation with respect to which
11 one-third or more of the Committee does
12 not concur, the report shall include a jus-
13 tification for why such members do not
14 concur.
15 (C) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COM-

16 MITTEES.—For purposes of this paragraph, the

17 term ‘‘appropriate Congressional Committees’’
18 means—
19 (i) the Committee on Rules and Ad-
20 ministration of the Senate;
21 (ii) the Committee on the Judiciary of
22 the Senate;
23 (iii) the Committee on House Admin-
24 istration of the House of Representatives;
25 and
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1 (iv) the Committee on the Judiciary of
2 the House of Representatives.
3 (e) COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.—
4 (1) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION OF MEM-

5 BERS.—The members of the Advisory Committee

6 may not receive pay or benefits from the United
7 States Government by reason of their service on the
8 Advisory Committee.
9 (2) STAFF.—
10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each Co-Chairperson
11 of the Advisory Committee may appoint not
12 more than 5 subject matter experts to serve as
13 staff to the Advisory Committee.
14 (B) COMPENSATION.—The Co-Chair-
15 persons of the Advisory Committee may fix the
16 compensation of the staff of the Advisor Com-
17 mittee without regard to chapter 51 and sub-
18 chapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United
19 States Code, relating to classification of posi-
20 tions and General Schedule pay rates, except
21 that the rate of pay for the staff may not ex-
22 ceed the rate payable for level V of the Execu-
23 tive Schedule under section 5316 of that title.
24 (f) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Committee shall
25 terminate 90 days after the date on which the Advisory
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1 Committee submits the report required under subsection
2 (d).
3 (g) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal Ad-
4 visory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to
5 the Advisory Committee.
6 SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE OF ACCESS TO ELECTION INFRA-

7 STRUCTURE BY FOREIGN NATIONALS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help America

9 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended
10 by inserting after section 303 the following new section:
11 ‘‘SEC. 303A. DISCLOSURE OF ACCESS TO ELECTION INFRA-

12 STRUCTURE BY FOREIGN NATIONALS.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each chief State election official

14 shall disclose to the Commission the identity of any foreign
15 national known by the chief State election official—
16 ‘‘(1) to have physically handled—
17 ‘‘(A) ballots used in an election for Federal
18 office; or
19 ‘‘(B) voting machines; or
20 ‘‘(2) to have had unmonitored access to—
21 ‘‘(A) a storage facility or centralized vote
22 tabulation location used to support the adminis-
23 tration of an election for public office; or
24 ‘‘(B) election-related information or com-
25 munications technology, including voter reg-
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1 istration databases, voting machines, electronic
2 mail and other communications systems (includ-
3 ing electronic mail and other systems of vendors
4 who have entered into contracts with election
5 agencies to support the administration of elec-
6 tions, manage the election process, and report
7 and display election results), and other systems
8 used to manage the election process and to re-
9 port and display election results on behalf of an
10 election agency.
11 ‘‘(b) TIMING.—The chief State election official shall
12 make the disclosure under subsection (a) not later than
13 30 days after the date on which such official becomes
14 aware of an activity described in such subsection.
15 ‘‘(c) FOREIGN NATIONAL DEFINED.—The term ‘for-
16 eign national’ has the meaning given that term in section
17 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52
18 U.S.C. 30121).’’.
19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN-
20 FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111)
21 is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 302, and 303’’ and
22 inserting ‘‘subtitle A of title III’’.
23 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
24 of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating
25 to section 303 the following new item:
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‘‘Sec. 303A. Disclosure of access to election infrastructure by foreign nation-
als.’’.